A new probe for spintronics

The spin Hall effect (SHE) enables us to create spin current inĀ  non-magnetic materials without using ferromagnetic materials. It is a crucial element in the central idea behind spintronics, that of manipulating currents ...

Higgs excitations near absolute zero

(Phys.org) -- A collaboration of physicists from Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, LMU, Harvard and Caltech detect Higgs-type excitations in a low-dimensional system of ultracold atoms at the transition between different ...

No evidence for 'knots' in space

(Phys.org) -- Theories of the primordial Universe predict the existence of knots in the fabric of space - known as cosmic textures - which could be identified by looking at light from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), ...

Reversible doping: Hydrogen flips switch on vanadium oxide

If you are not a condensed matter physicist, vanadium oxide (VO2) may be the coolest material you've never heard of. It's a metal. It's an insulator. It's a window coating and an optical switch. And thanks to a new study ...

Graphite enters different states of matter

(Phys.org) -- For the first time, scientists have seen an X-ray-irradiated mineral go to two different states of matter in about 40 femtoseconds (a femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second).

Swift satellite monitors departing Comet Garradd

(Phys.org) -- An outbound comet that provided a nice show for skywatchers late last year is the target of an ongoing investigation by NASA's Swift satellite. Formally designated C/2009 P1 (Garradd), the unusually dust-rich ...

Ultrafast sonograms shed new light on rapid phase transitions

An international team of physicists has developed a method for taking ultrafast 'sonograms' that can track the structural changes that take place within solid materials in trillionth-of-a-second intervals as they go through ...

Watching a gas turn superfluid

Every time you boil water in a kettle, you witness a phenomenon known as a phase transition — water transforms from a liquid to a gas, as you can see from the bubbling water and hissing steam. MIT physicists have now ...

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